Keyboard shortcuts to improve your productivity

I had a revelation while I was at work today. I am surrounded by computer illiteracy. Typing with two fingers is common and there are many people who have no idea how to copy and paste using their keyboard. Keyboard shortcuts are faster and more efficient compared to using a mouse most of the time. I figured why not list some that I use on a day-to-day basis. Just a side-note, this is for Windows and not macOS.

General

Alt+Tab: Quickly switch between open applications

Ctrl+C: Copy

Ctrl+X: Cut

Ctrl+V: Paste

Ctrl+A: Select all

Win (Windows)+L: Quickly lock your computer

Win+M: Minimize all

Chrome

Ctrl+N: Opens a new window

Ctrl+Shift+N: Opens a new incognito window 😉

Ctrl+Tab: Open a new tab

Ctrl+Shift+Tab: Re-opens the most recent tab that you’ve closed

Ctrl+Tab: Move to the next tab on the right

Ctrl+Shift+Tab: Move to the next tab on the left

Ctrl+F: Search for a word

Ctrl+W: Close current window

Ctrl+Shift + W: Close all windows

Ctrl+P: Print

Ctrl+R: Refresh tab

Mouse

This is something I learned very recently. You need to have a mouse with a scroll wheel. If you click on a link with the scroll wheel, it will open it up in a new tab. You can also click on any tab with the scroll wheel and it will close the tab you clicked on. This is perfect for people who want to quickly close a tab and not go through the trouble of clicking the small x.

This information is widely available on the Internet. However, a long shortcut list can be overwhelming for people who primarily use their mouse. These are what I tend to use almost everyday. Everyone can benefit from basic keyboard shortcuts. Constantly moving from your keys to the mouse and back can get tedious quickly. You can type two keys to perform a function in the same time it takes for you to reach over to your mouse. For my coworkers who still type with two fingers, I’ll buy you Mavis Beacon that I used in first grade.